Discovering County Clare

If you had ever asked me about recommendations for Clare before I would have been very quick to say The Cliffs of Moher, Doolin, Liscannor, etc. The last time I had explored anywhere else in Clare was with my parents years ago and having finally gone there last weekend I’m really sad that it didn’t occur to me to visit there sooner!

I was itching to go somewhere on my Sunday at home and my mother had recommended going on one of her favourite drives out by Loop Head Lighthouse. With no other plans for the day, we took her word for it and set off!

Loop Head Lighthouse

Our first stop was Carrigaholt where we veered left down a small road to take the ‘coast road’ along to Loop Head. It’s a really quiet road with not much happening but you will get to an absolutely stunning beach along the way. Even with the day being as gorgeous as it was, there wasn’t a single person on the beach which really added to the beauty of it.

Beach in Carriggaholt

Our next stop along the way was just before Kilbaha, on the Kilclogher north road. Another completely untouched beach and unlike anything I had ever seen before! Clare is known for it’s rock formation ‘The Burren’ – but the rock formations here were so much more breathtaking! It turns out the tide was out pretty far when we got there, as on the way home in had come in and the impressive rocks were hidden beneath the water. I just sat here for ages watching the water, it was incredibly serene and so beautiful for somewhere I had actually never heard of before.

Beach at Kilbaha

Our last stop on the trip was Loop Head Lighthouse. Now, you might think we are crazy, but we never went into the lighthouse itself. The lighthouse costs €5 for adult admission and from the balcony at the top you can see for miles. Apparently on a clear day you can see South as far as the Blasket Islands in Kerry and North as far as the Twelve Pins in Mayo. Without even going up the lighthouse we managed to see across to Kerry incredibly clearly.

Cliffs at Loop Head Lighthouse

Instead of going to the top of the lighthouse we decided to walk around the grounds. We started on the right hand side which had stunning cliffs and blue skies and the sea for days. The further down we walked, there was a sea stack with amazing waves crashing against it at the far end. We went on the wild side a bit and climbed down the cliff in a few places which were all quite safe but I would recommend to take care when there are strong winds. We walked all the way around until we realized how far down we had gotten and decided to make a bee-line upwards, finding the outer wall of the lighthouse and following that to get back to the car. I think we walked roughly 3km around the whole area but you don’t have to do this much.

Behind Loop Head Lighthouse

We considered driving towards Spanish Point and then home but since we left late and took our time walking around we drove back to Limerick straight from Loop Head. It is such a beautiful part of the world and when you get a good day like we did, nowhere abroad would come close to the views!

Love this. Camped at Loop Head a day after you wrote this – stunning place, though always enjoyed Diamond Rocks/Pollock Holes in Kilkee too, when the weather is stormy! I assume that from Limerick, you know them all too well!

Light House and The Sea Stack, Thanks for taking me there. Sitting at the sea stack, looking at the sea in peaceful and soothing.

Thanks again, sometimes, irrespective of our desire to see and be at new places doesn’t come across but then there are some others ( like you in this case) , one gets to see the beautiful things around.